Patricia Field gets her book signed by Linda Fargo and David Hoey, the creators of “Windows at Bergdorf Goodman.”

He sourced a flying horse from eBay, traversed the country in search of silver (not brass, as they are more common) nautical antiques, and loaded two tons of quartz crystals into a single window. And that’s just for this season.

As the senior director of visual presentation at Bergdorf Goodman, David Hoey oversees the inception, investigation and implementation of the stores’ windows, a job he’s been pouring over for the last 14 years. Hoey works closely with Linda Fargo, the senior vice president of fashion office and store presentation.

Their most recent endeavor resulted in a hand-made 17-and a-half-pound book that encompasses the past two decades of windows is entitled “Windows at Bergdorf Goodman.” Measuring 17×14 inches with tipped-in, hand-glued photographs, this pièce de résistance, part of Assouline’s “Ultimate Collection” retails for $550. Only 1,000 books were created, with over half both premiering and selling Thursday night at the red carpet book event and holiday window unveiling.

“We wanted a real book that hits the table with a thud,” said Jim Gold, the former CEO of Bergdorf. Hoey and Fargo credit him as the brainchild of the book.

Each and every book purchased, was addressed and signed to the buyer by Hoey and Fargo. “If these mannequins could talk,” Hoey wrote in one book. Fargo pressed her lips to the opening page of another, leaving a crimson shadow behind.

Fashion designer Patricia Field and Lavin artistic director Alber Elbaz walked away with books, while Prince Poppycock, a roguish operatic dandy in a two-foot high white wig, entertained the roughly 650 people in attendance.

Courtesy of Bergdorf Goodman

“I think of my windows as a pristine art gallery space,” said Hoey, who wore a five-year-old Thom Browne grey pinstripe suit and wool tie. “The minimal window, the one with the least amount should amount to the biggest joke. The maximum window is finished when there’s not enough of a surface to put a dime.”

With the exception of the holidays, in which Hoey gets 12 days to assemble the props, the clothes, and the hundreds of other components into the 12 windows that face Fifth Avenue, 57th and 58th Streets, windows are changed every week.

Fargo estimated that her and Hoey do 250-350 designs each year. “The book matches the scale and luxury and care that we put into our windows,” Fargo said, in a vintage Cèline dress and black wig-cum-necklace of her own creation. “It’s something special that visually feels right.”

About Speakeasy

Speakeasy is a blog covering media, entertainment, celebrity and the arts. The publication is produced by Barbara Chai and Jonathan Welsh with contributions from the Wall Street Journal staff and others. Write to us at speakeasy@wsj.com or follow us on Twitter at @WSJSpeakeasy or individually @barbarachai.